Outdoor wash stand

ABSTRACT

A wash stand for outdoor use and comprising a ground stake of sufficient length to stand at substantially waist height as vertically erected, a plurality of wire form members engaged to the ground stake and extended radially outward and upward at their ends to receive and support a wash bowl therewithin, and arcuate sectors provided on said wire form members for peripheral engagement and support of the wash bowl inwardly thereof and providing radiused cross members outwardly thereof for towel bar and other uses.

United States Patent 1191 Fraley Aug. 13, 1974 OUTDOOR WASH STAND2,861,764 11/1958 Fisher 248/146 ,3l7,l 519 7 Z' h 248 156 [76] FrancisFraley, 535N- Thlrd 3591,831 711931 SL281 41166 Saint Clair, Mich. 48079I [22] Filed: Oct. 26, 1972 Primary Examiner-Henry K. Artis pp No:301,080 Attorney, Agent, or Firm Dale Austin mme [57] ABSTRACT [52] US.Cl 4/170, 4/ 167, 248/156 A wash Stand for outdoor use and comprising a{51] Int. Cl. A47k 1/04, A47k 1/05 ground stake of sufficient length tostand at substan- [58] Field of Search 4/166, 167, 168, I59,

248/l46 156 149 413 tlally waist height as vertically erected, aplurality of wire form members engaged to the ground stake and [56182218381311881;1 8;111:8118 223 UNITED STATES PATENTS cuate sectorsprovided on said wire form members for 1,366,872 1/1921 Cantleberry248/156 peripheral engagement and support of the wash bowl 1,666,2934/1928 LOllOl'l 248/156 X inwardly thereof and providing radiused crossmem- 25201450 8/1950 Austm, 248/156 X bers outwardly thereof for towelbar and other uses. 2,603,439 7/1952 Vesconte 248/156 X 2,701,701 2/1955Wolff 248/ 146 X 4 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures OUTDOOR WASH STANDBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Campers usually use a small table or acouple of sticks between two trees to make a wash stand that willsupport a wash bowl, a soap dish, a mirror, etc.

Unless the wash bowl is fastened down in some way, the water usuallysplashes around as the wash bowl is moved about and invariably thetowels, soap and everything at hand is wet and messy. Cups set on thetable or a shelf are knocked off on the ground and get dirty. And it isgenerally hard to keep the usual toilet items collected together nearthe wash stand and from being knocked about and on the ground or frombeing misplaced or lost.

Although camp site wash stands which are self contained units have beensuggested before, most of them have provided little more than a standfor the bowl itself, a towel and a soap dish. And, the wash bowl isusually supported in such a way that it is unstable and may cause thewhole stand to fall over.

Of further importance is that any wash stand for camp use must becapable of being disassembled in sufficiently small segments to be ableto be compactly stored away and carried about from one camp site to thenext. This is also important in manufacturing and packaging such unitsfor sales and distribution about the country.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION The present invention relates to a washstand for outdoor and camp site use which includes a ground stake, madein several segments, and with an end fitting for several radiallyextended arms to support a wash basin FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspectiveview of one of the arms.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the arms on the supporting stake and with thewash bowl shown in phantom as it is supported thereon.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged side view of the soap dish arm, which includes theshelf, cup dispenser and mirror supporting arm, with certain parts shownin cross-section.

by its outer rim therewithin so that the support for the wash basin isimmediately under it for added stability.

In addition, each of the radial arms is formed to provide an arcuatesegment which extends beyond the supported rim of the wash bowl andwhich may be adapted for use as towel racks, tooth brush holder, soapdish, etc. Since these are circumferentially disposed about the washbowl, they are convenient to it and what ever weight they add isrelatively counter balanced on the opposite side.

Still further, one of the radial arms is adapted to receive anattachment on which may be mounted a small shelf, a cup dispenser and amirror. Although this weight, of itself, is not appreciable it is alsocounteracted by a waste basket which is hung on the ground stake on therelatively opposite side.

The whole wash stand assembly is made to include pieces which break downor are made to fit within the waste basket, including the wash bowl, sothat the waste basket, itself, serves as both the shipping and storagecontainer for everything and no other box or storage means is required.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES FIG. 1 is a full side view of thewash stand of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged and partially cross-sectioned side view showingthe different stake sections and wash bowl arrangement.

FIG. 3 is a further enlargement of just the head or fitting for the washbowl supporting arms.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of just the shelf. FIG. 8 is an enlargedperspective view of the tooth brush holder attachment and cover.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The camp site wash stand of the present invention,in its prefered form, is shown as fully assembled and erected in thefirst drawing figure.

It includes a ground stake 10 with a fitting 12 on an extension in itsupper end which supports four spaced radial arm members 14 that in turnreceive and support a small wash bowl or basin 16 therewithin. One ofthe radial arm members also includes an attachment 18 to which isaffixed a shelf 20 and a cup dispenser 22 and which is bent over toprovide a hook 24 on which a mirror 26 may be hung.

A waste basket 28, of sufficient size to receive and retain all of thepieces of the wash stand, when disassembled, is also shown hanging on ahook 30 on one side of the ground stake.

FIG. 2 shows the ground stake 10 in greater detail. It is made, toinclude a lower end piece 32 which is pointed, as at 34, and has anannular plate 36 welded near its other endto serve as a means of drivingthe whole stake into the ground by stepping on it, with both feet, andusing ones weight to force it down to ground level, as shown in thefirst drawing figure.

The stake includes a second section 38 which is joined to the lower oneby a threaded stud 40 engaged in the next adjacent ends of each part.

A similar coupling may be used for the third section 42 of the groundstake. However, an external coupling 44 is shown in this instance forjoining the second and third parts of the ground stake together in ordertoaccommodate a two piece extension member 46 which is telescopicallyreceived in the upper end of the ground stake.

The extension member 46 is held at any selected height above groundlevel, in the ground stake, by a set screw 48 through a side wall of theupper most stake section 42.

It will be noted that the hook 30, for the waste basket 28 is welded tothe side of the ground stake, so that it does not extend into the stakesection in which the extension is received and cause any interference.

An end plug 50 is fastened by a short piece of chain to the upper mostend of the ground stake member 42 and can be used to drive the groundstake into the ground, if needed.

FIG. 3 shows the fitting 12 which is provided on the upper end of theextension member 46 for holding the arm members 14 that receive andsupport the wash bowl. Since the illustrated embodiment makes use offour arm members, the fitting includes four separate short tubularmembers 58 which are welded to its sides and are equally spaced aboutits end to receive the wire form ends 54 of each arm member therewithin.

A side wall of each tubular member 52 is cut and bent outwardly, justslightly, as shown at 56, to avoid a sharp edge and provide a betterrest for the supporting arms when they are engaged therein. And, aclosure member 58 is provided on the end of the extension with slots 60that are formed to positively locate and fix the arms so they cannotturn sideways and will stand radially outward as required.

Each of the radial arm members is made to the form of the one shown inFIG. 4, although they may be modified or adapted for other uses, as willbe described later.

The arm members are of bent wire rod, which is plastisized or other wiseprotected, and they are formed to include the bent ends 54, which areengaged in the ground stake extension fitting, and to include anoutwardly and upwardly curved part 62 that has an arcuate sector 64, inwire form, at its far end. This latter includes a radiused cross member66, which downwardly stepped and outwardly extending arms 68 at eachend, and an interconnecting radiused section 70 spaced from the smallerradiused cross member 66 and standing apart therefrom.

In combination, the radial arm members 14 and their outer disposedarcuate sectors 64 are shown by the top plan view of FIG. to bereceptive of the rolled edge 72 of the wash bowl 16, on their innerradiused cross members 66, and to provide outwardly disposed towelracks, or holders for a soap dish or tooth brushes, as furtherdiscussion will show.

The wash bowl 16 is of a plastic material, which is easier to take careof, has the rolled edge 72 mentioned, and is of a size to be receivedand supported on the radial arms in the manner described.

FIG. 6 shows an adaptation made of one of the radial arm members toprovide a soap dish 74, within the arcuate sector 64,.and which isprovided with a short upstanding tubular element 76 on the outerdisposed radiused cross member 70 that is receptive of a smaller rod 78,with a locating pin 80 to properly orient it, and provide the shelf, cupdispenser and mirror holder attachment 18.

The small shelf 20 is circular in shape and is of flat sheetmaterialwith a radial slot 82 out from its center and which enables itto be fitted within the flanged edges of a U-shaped member 84 fixed tothe rod 78.

The cup dispenser 22 is of the type generally known and with the fixtureto support the dispenser, identified.

as 86, fastened to the rod 78 sufficiently about the shelf forconvenient use.

FIG. 8 shows a tooth brush holder 88 which is of a size to fit withinthe arcuate sector 64 of one of the supporting arm members and has itsopposite ends rolled over, as at 90, for engaging the outwardlyextending side arms 68 thereof. It has a series of holes 92, throughwhich the tooth brush handles are extended, and a seethrough plasticcover 94 for protection.

Just as the soap dish 74 is shown as made as a part of the arcuatesector of one of the supporting arm members, it follows that the toothbrush holder could be also, or that the soap dish could be a separatefit-on attachment.

ASSEMBLY FOR USE The whole camp site wash stand of the presentinvention, all of the parts and pieces, may be kept within the wastebasket 28. Consequently, the latter serves as both a shipping andstorage container for the whole assembly.

The three sections 32, 38 and 42 of the ground stake are engagedtogether first. No tools are necessary and handtight pressures areadequate and recommended to facilitate disassembly when breaking camp.

The two sections of the extension 46 are next assembled, with thefitting 12 already on the one end, and the four radial arm members 14are engaged to it.

The ground stake is then forced into the ground, where ever desired, byuse of either the foot rest 36 or the end plug 50, if needed.

Next, the extension 46 is fitted into the ground stake l0 and the radialarms are checked to be sure their ends 54 are seated in the fitting 12with their extended parts 62 down in the guide slots 60 of the closure58 so that they are relatively fixed to extend outwardly, as shown inFIG. 5.

The wash bowl 16 is next placed with its rolled edge 72 over the arcuatesegments 66 of each arm member.

The attachment 18 is next pre-assembled with its shelf 20 and cupdispenser 22. Then it is mounted on the radial arm member which includesthe receptive tubular part 76 and it is turned so that the hook end 24is relatively over the wash bowl 16, in which position its locating pin80 will drop into a receptive slot and hold it.

The soap dish 74 and tooth brush holder 88, if not made as a part of theradial arm sectors, are added and the mirror 26 is hung on theattachment hook 24. The waste basket 28 is hung on the hook 30, andexcept for water in the wash bowl, the stand is ready for use.

Adjustments for small children and adults are easily made by looseningthe set screw 48 and lowering or raising the level of the wash bowl, asdesired.

To disassemble the wash stand the procedure is the opposite.

No instructions are really necessary for either assembly or disassemblysince the procedure is so simple and obvious.

l claim: I

l. A wash stand for outdoor use, and comprising; a ground stake having apointed end for ground penetration and a length as erected to standvertically to substantially waist height, means received upon thevertically disposed end of the ground stake for supporting and retaininga wash bowl for use thereon, said means including a fitting having armsextending radially outward therefrom and inclusive of radiused crossmembers at the ends of said arms formed for peripheral engagementsupport and retention of a wash bowl thereon, and a wash bowl having arolled edge for receiving and retaining said radiused cross membersthereunder and within for collective peripheral engagement and retentionof said wash bowl against lateral movement and for positive peripheralsupport thereof over and apart from said fitting and the ground stakethereunder.

2. The wash stand of claim 1, said radially extending arms beingseparable from said fitting and being of bent wire form curving upwardlyrelatively under the wash bowl to be supported thereon and having anarcuate sector providing the means of peripheral engagement within therolled edge of said wash bowl.

3. The wash stand of claim 2, said arcuate sectors on said radiallyextending arms including a first radiused ments, and said arms, saidstake segments and said wash bowl being collectively sized anddimensioned for storage in a common receptacle usable as a waste basketwith the wash stand, as assembled and erected.

1. A wash stand for outdoor use, and comprising; a ground stake having apointed end for ground penetration and a length as erected to standvertically to substantially waist height, means received upon thevertically disposed end of the ground stake for supporting and retaininga wash bowl for use thereon, said means including a fitting having armsextending radially outward therefrom and inclusive of radiused crossmembers at the ends of said arms formed for peripheral engagementsupport and retention of a wash bowl thereon, and a wash bowl having arolled edge for receiving and retaining said radiused cross membersthereunder and within for collective peripheral engagement and retentionof said wash bowl against lateral movement and for positive peripheralsupport thereof over and apart from said fitting and the ground stakethereunder.
 2. The wash stand of claim 1, said radially extending armsbeing separable from said fitting and being of bent wire form curvingupwardly relatively under the wash bowl to be supported thereon andhaving an arcuate sector providing the means of peripheral engagementwithin the rolled edge of said wash bowl.
 3. The wash stand of claim 2,said arcuate sectors on said radially extending arms including a firstradiused cross member receptive within the rolled edge of the wash bowland a second radiused cross member outwardly thereof for towel bar andother uses.
 4. The wash bowl stand of claim 3, said radially extendingarms being each capable of disassembly from said fitting, said groundstake being of separable segments, and said arms, said stake segmentsand said wash bowl being collectively sized and dimensioned for storagein a common receptacle usable as a waste basket with the wash stand, asassembled and erected.